Preamble: LyX version scheme

	In September of 1999 the LyX Team decided that we could no
	longer successfully use the two strand development process
	like the Linux kernel. The idea was to to switch to a
	development model similar to that used by Fetchmail where only
	we would will only make small stable changes between releases
	and release more often.  This lead to the 1.1.x series of LyX
	releases where the inhards of the program have been rewritten 
	to make use of the C++ Standard Library features, establish
	the foundations of GUI/system independence, and generally
	clean up the data structures used in the core of LyX.

	As of April 2002, this transition phase is completed and we
	feel it is time to switch to (yet) another version scheme. 
	This new series will be in a state of continual advancement.
	Note the word "advancement" and not "development." Development
	will be occurring in branches of CVS and once the
	feature/modification has proved stable it will be merged into
	the main releases.

	LyX still uses a continuous numbering scheme where odd or
	even numbering is not significant. Prereleases are
	labeled with a "pre" suffix and any fixes required between
	stable releases have a "fix" suffix. Thus there are three
	possible file names:

	   lyx-1.2.0.tar.gz       -- stable release
	   lyx-1.2.2.tar.gz       -- second maintenance release of the
	                             1.2.0 stable release 
	   lyx-1.2.0pre1.tar.gz   -- potentially unstable test release

	The maintenance releases are designed mainly to fix bugs. The
	goal here is not to have parallel development as for the linux
	kernel (the team is too small to afford that), but rather to
	include all the simple (so that the maintenance burden on us
	is not too high) and safe (so that system administrators can
	install them without fear) bug fixes.  Experience shows that
	these releases will contain a few new features, and that the
	bulk of the patches will be documentation updates.

What is LyX?

	LyX is an advanced open-source "document processor". Unlike
	standard word processors, LyX encourages writing based on the
	structure of your documents, not their appearance. It lets you
	concentrate on writing, leaving details of visual layout to the
	software.

	You can read more about this concept in the documentation,
	which you'll find under the Help menu.  If you plan to use LyX, 
	you really should read about it to be able to make the best of 
	it.

What is LyX not?

	LyX is not just another word processor that claims to be a
	Desktop Publishing program.  It's a more modern way of
	creating documents that look much nicer, but without wasting 
	time with layout-fiddling.  For these reasons you might need 
	little time to get used to the differences.
	If you are looking for a free Desktop Publishing program for
	Unix, you will be disappointed.

What do I need to run LyX?

	A Unix-like system or Windows with cygwin, OS/2 with XFree
	At least X11 Release 5
	A decent LaTeX2e installation (e.g. teTeX or NTeX) not older
	   than 1995/12/01
	Perl5.002 or later to import LaTeX files into LyX

What's new?

	Read NEWS.

How do I install a binary distribution of LyX?

	Unpack it and run it.  We recommend unpacking it in /usr/local,
	but it should work anywhere.  In particular, you can try LyX
	in a temporary directory before installing permanently by
	typing "bin/lyx".

	We recommend that you configure LyX system-wide by copying the
        file share/lyx/lyxrc.example to share/lyx/lyxrc, and then
	reading and modifying it.

	You should read the notes regarding this particular build in
	the file README.bin.

How do I upgrade from an earlier LyX version?

	Read the file UPGRADING for info on this subject.
	If you are upgrading from version 0.12.0 or later, you don't 
	need to do anything special.

What do I need to compile LyX from the source distribution?

	1. A good c++ compiler.  Development is being done mainly on
	   gcc/g++, but some others work. As of LyX 1.2.0, you need at
	   least gcc 2.95.X (or egcs 1.1.x). Another compiler known to
	   work is compaq cxx 6.1.
	2. The Xforms library version 0.89.6 (recommended) or 0.88.1.
	3. LibXpm version 4.7 (or newer).

	Read the file "INSTALL" for more information on compiling.

Okay, I've installed LyX. What now?

	Once you've installed it, and everything looks fine, go read
	the "Introduction" item under the Help menu.  You should follow
	the instructions there, which tell you to read (or at least skim)
	the Tutorial. After that, you should also read "Help/LaTeX
	configuration" which provides info on your LaTeX configuration
	as LyX sees it.  You might be missing a package or two that you'd
	like to have.

	User-level configuration is possible via the Edit>Preferences menu.

Does LyX have support for non-English speakers/writers/readers?

	Yes. LyX supports writing in many languages.

	Menus and error messages have been translated to the following
	languages (* means there are language-specific keyboard menu
	bindings as well):

	Basque	    (eu)
	Bulgarian   (bg)
	Catalan     (ca)
	Czech       (cs)
	Danish      (da)
	German      (de)    *
	Spanish     (es)
	Finnish     (fi)
	French      (fr)    *
	Hebrew	    (he)
	Hungarian   (hu)    *
	Italian     (it)
	Dutch       (nl)
	Norwegian   (no)
	Polish      (pl)
	Portuguese  (pt)    *
	Romanian    (ro)
	Russian     (ru)
	Slovenian   (sl)
	Swedish     (sv)    *
	Turkish     (tr)
	Walloon	    (wa)

	Keymaps can ease typing in one or more of the following languages:

	Arabic
	Bulgarian
	Czech
	French, Swiss French
	German, Swiss German
	Greek
	Hebrew
	Hungarian (Magyar)
	Latvian
	Polish
	Portugese
	Romanian
	Slovenian
	Turkish
	Ukrainian

Internet resources of relevance to LyX

	The LyX homepage contains valuable information about LyX and the
	various LyX mailing lists, as well as links to mirrors and other
	LyX homepages around the world:
	http://www.lyx.org/

	Main LyX archive site:
	ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/

	The LyX Development page has information about the development
	effort. LyX is now under CVS control, so you can get the very
	latest sources from there at any time.
	http://www.devel.lyx.org/
	ftp://www.devel.lyx.org/pub/lyx/

How do I submit a bug report?

	If possible, read the Introduction found under the Help menu in LyX.
	You'll find detailed info on submitting bug reports there.

	If you can't do that, send details to the LyX Developers mailing
	list, or use the LyX bug tracker at http://bugzilla.lyx.org/.
	Don't forget to mention which version you are having problems with!

How can I participate in the development of LyX? 

	Any help with the development of LyX is greatly appreciated--
	after all LyX wouldn't be what it is today without the help
	of volunteers. We need your help!

	If you want to work on LyX, you should contact the developer's 
	mailing list for discussion on how to do your stuff.  LyX is being 
	cleaned up, and therefore it's important to follow some rules. 
	Read about those rules in development/Code_rules/.

	If you don't know C++, there are many other ways to contribute.
	Write documentation. Help to internationalize LyX by translating
	documentation or menus/error messages, or by writing a new keymap.
	Write a new textclass.  Work on reLyX (Perl). Find bugs (but please
	read the list of known bugs first). Contribute money. Or just offer
	feature suggestions (but please read the online TODO list first).  

Thank you for trying LyX, and we appreciate your feedback in the mailing
lists.

The LyX Team.